Andy Devereux

Bass trombone

I run a small web design agency

My first concert with the orchestra was in 2010 and I took over the bass trombone seat full time in 2015.

I studied as a French horn player in my youth, playing with the Birmingham Schools Symphony Orchestra and having a scholarship to the Junior School of Music (now the Birmingham Conservatoire). I relocated to Scotland with work when I was in my mid 20s and made the move to bass trombone to expand my playing opportunities and never looked back.

My dad was the previous bass trombone player with the orchestra. Between 2011 and 2015 he was taking time out to travel as well as slowly moving in to retirement, so I was seat sharing for a few years covering for him when he was away. 

I feel very privileged to play in the BPO low brass section with Phil, Dave and Jon. Every concert with this team is a treasured occasion. The role of a bass trombone player is often to bridge between the tenor trombones and the tuba and having such high quality players to my left and right makes this role incredibly fulfilling. 

Sight reading the very difficult and exposed part in Vaughan Williams 4 on the stage, and subsequently being the first to be stood by the conductor during the applause will always rank as a highlight. Others include performing in Bruckner 8, Mahler 8, Mahler 3 and more recently Shostakovich 11

Fingers crossed there have been no major disasters yet (you would know if the bass trombone player comes in wrong at full pelt).

As a low brass player you will get a very predictable list of favourite composers from me: Mahler, Bruckner, Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky. I don’t leap for joy when Johann Strauss is on the programme.

Top of the list is Prokofiev 6, but would love to see Shostakovich 10 and 7, Nielsen 4 and Bruckner 7 appear on the concert programme.